Using tcio with cpio?

[Chris Jones_4]

I'm writing a backup script using cpio and while browsing through the man pages I read dire warnings that I should use tcio if I'm using a cartridge!

Must I? Should I? What happens if I don't?

I'm using HP-UX 11 on a 9000 server, The tape drive is an IBM DLT with 200Gb capacity. Sorry can't be more specific about the tape drive.

Thanks in advance.

[eran maor]

Hi Cris

i have to say that i have never meat the tcio command for backup .

this is a very old method to do backup .
you dont have to use tcio , you can use the cpio but if you ask me i will use the fbackup that is a very nice util. of hp-ux that give you the abil. to use a lot of option for your script .

when i wrote script for backup ( before i began to work with omniback) i used fbackup all the time but also cpio .

i have never use the tpio command .

[eran maor]

Hi Again

i talk with my boss that remember this command.

dont use tpio , this command was use for a sep. device that was used in the past and now it is not good for DLT .

so use cpio or fabckup

[melvyn burnard · Accepted solution]

The tcio (tape cartridge I/O ) command was used for when using the HP 9144/9145 150ft/600ft a6/32 track cartridge tapes.
The reason is that if you did NOt use it with these devices, thene they basically hunted back and forth, wearing out hte mechanism incredibly fast, and the backup(s) took forever!

DLT's do not need this command, so there is no no need to use it.
As an aside, if you do:
man backup

you should find there is already a pre-written script using find and cpio that you may be able to use.

[Bill Hassell]

I would caution you about using cpio. Just like tar and pax, these are VERY old programs that were never designed to backup more than a few hundred megs and cannot backup any file larger than 2 Gb. These legacy programs have no error recovery, no central index and cannot handle multi-tape backups.

If you have a DLT, you most likely have dozens of gigabytes of data to save so a commercial quality backup program like Omniback should be used. At the very least, use fbackup which can handle multiple tapes and be customized for tape changers, has a central index and uses multiple processes to keep the tape busy (important for DLT performance).

Backups are data insurance and like a cheap insurance policy, you don't want it to fail when you need it most.